Teaching cases and the development of moral reasoning in teacher education students

It is well documented that special education teachers frequently deal with moral dilemmas. Yet, ethical topics receive little attention in teacher education programs. Although teacher educators maintain that case-based instruction maintain facilitates ethical and moral thinking, there is little empirical evidence to support this claim. The purpose of this study was to describe moral reasoning over time in one class of students who discussed teaching cases throughout the semester. It was also to determine if these students differed from their peers in another section of the same course who did not discuss cases, in their development of postconventional reasoning. This hypothesis was measured by the Defining Issues Test, case analyses, case discussion logs, journal reflections, and interviews.;Repeated measures ANOVA indicated that there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups of DIT-2 scores. Individual growth models indicated no distinct patterns of growth in postconventional reasoning. Most of the students' DIT-2 scores increased, but some decreased. An analysis of the students' raw stage scores on the DIT-2 indicated that most operated predominately from a stage four---maintaining norms---moral schema.;The review of the students initial and final case analyses indicated no statistically significant difference. However, the analysis of the discussion log, journal reflections, and interviews indicated that students developed characteristics of postconventional reasoning through the semester. Students initially identified primarily with students in the case, however, they began to see the teacher's point of view as the semester progressed. Younger students showed less stability in their opinions and their DIT-2 scores. At the end of the semester, students reported that they enjoyed the discussions, had gained personal insights, and believed that they would remember the details of each case. Implications are that teaching cases do support the development of moral reasoning for undergraduates and have pedagogical benefits when discussions are structured and facilitated to emphasize the moral responsibilities of teachers. Establishing discussion ground rules promotes meaningful discussions.